Accidents Will Happen (Pulling Teeth)
by St. Minority
Summary: Concerned about Phoenix's relationship, Larry enlists the help of someone he hopes will convince him to leave. One-Shot. Hinted Phoenix/Edgeworth, Phoenix/Dahlia. Warnings: angst, mentions of abuse


**Title**: Accidents Will Happen (Pulling Teeth)

**Rating** T

**Pairings/Characters**: hinted Phoenix/Miles, Dahlia/Phoenix

**Disclaimer**: I don't own anything Ace Attorney, characters, etc., all belong to their respective creators.

**Warnings**: angst, abuse, hurt/comfort

**Summary**: Concerned about Phoenix's relationship, Larry enlists the help of someone he hopes will convince him to leave. One-Shot.

**A/N**: My take on if Dahlia and Iris had split their time with Phoenix, further manipulating and warping his mind and clouding his judgement.

Inspired by Green Day's "Pulling Teeth". Titled it as such too, but the site doesn't want me to have two with the same title! So on Archive of Our Own, it's under just Pulling Teeth. :)

* * *

_"Is she ultra violent?_

_Is she disturbed?_

_I better tell her that I love her_

_Before she does it all over again_

_Oh God, she's killing me_

_...She takes good care of me_

_Just keep saying my love is true" _~Pulling Teeth

* * *

It was a chore to get Phoenix to do anything social anymore. There was always some excuse for why he couldn't hang out. Ever since he'd started dating the girl of every man's dreams, his priorities shifted. At first, he still made time to have a drink on the weekends, would be as talkative as ever and declare how happy he was. But after about a month, there started to be noticeable changes. Larry didn't consider himself a genius by any means; however, he was smart enough to realize when something was bothering his friend. Among the obvious bruises that Phoenix would explain away as being clumsy accidents on his part, there was the fact that he began avoiding going out in public, and whenever Larry ended up convincing him to have some fun, he was significantly quieter and clearly on edge. Judging by how difficult it was to persuade him to come to the bar for a drink tonight, Larry wondered what the damage was this time.

He'd only been sitting at a table for about five minutes when he saw Phoenix walk in. It was easy to spot him by the bright pink sweater he wore practically every day. Despite it being almost ten o'clock at night, he had sunglasses covering his eyes.

"Damn it, Nicky," Larry muttered to himself. "What did she do this time?"

He stood up and waved, which Phoenix eventually saw and sauntered over to the table. Even his posture had changed; instead of standing up and walking with an air of confidence, his shoulders were now hunched and his head was always down as if he was trying to shrink away from everyone.

"Hey Larry," he greeted with an awkward smile and sat down across from his friend.

"What's with the shades, bro? I don't think you're cool enough to pull them off at night." The frames didn't hide everything, for he could see the discoloration on Phoenix's left cheek, and they did nothing to conceal the busted, swollen lip he had.

"You don't think so? I thought I looked okay."

"Come on and take them off. They make you stand out like a sore thumb." He sensed the severe hesitation, causing him to assure sympathetically, "No one's looking that closely at you to see."

With a heavy sigh, Phoenix removed the sunglasses and set them on the table. He kept his gaze downcast so as to not meet Larry's, which he knew was assessing the newest damage. His left eyelid was almost swollen shut, vibrant black and purple bruising encasing it and the surrounding area.

"Jesus, Nick," Larry said in disbelief. "How much longer are you going to take a beating from her?"

"Don't say that!" Phoenix snapped. "It's not her fault! I…."

"Tripped? Fell down the stairs? Got in a fight? Come on, we both know that's bull shit."

"That's not true! Dollie would never hurt me."

Taking a large gulp of his beer, Larry shook his head. "Just look in the mirror, Nicky."

"I'm not going to sit here and let you talk bad about her."

"I'm worried about you, man!"

"Well don't be! I'm fine! Why can't you just accept that I'm finally happy?!"

Larry opened his mouth, ready to respond, though he caught himself when he saw the person he'd been hoping for enter the room. They made eye contact, and he settled back in his chair and crossed his arms.

"If you're not going to listen to me, then maybe you'll listen to someone else."

"What are you talking about?" Phoenix waited impatiently for a reply and was shocked by the new voice he heard instead.

"Hello, Wright."

Phoenix felt the color drain from his face and his heart stop. He stared at Larry wildly, who merely nodded and shrugged.

Without warning, Phoenix shot up from his seat and darted out of the bar.

"Wait Nicky!" Larry shouted and hurried after him. By the time he got outside, Phoenix was already halfway down the street. "Nick, stop!"

"PHOENIX!"

The sound of his name being bellowed by Edgeworth caused Phoenix to freeze.

"Stay here," Edgeworth instructed Larry before casually walking towards the other man. He stopped just inches away from him, noting how tense and furious his old childhood friend was.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Phoenix growled, his hands clenched into fists.

"I received word from Larry that you were in trouble. It seems that he was gravely concerned about your well-being."

"Why would he ask _you_ for help? You haven't wanted anything to do with us for over ten years. You never answered any of _my_ letters. You couldn't care less about me, so leave me alone."

"Wright-" He placed his hand on the man's shoulder and was surprised by how intense the reaction was. Phoenix jumped and stumbled away as if he'd been burned and hugged himself protectively.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" he shouted angrily, though there was a hint of fear laced in his tone. He hated the tears that threatened to fall from his eyes and cowered against the nearest building.

This wasn't what Edgeworth expected at all. Larry had asked him to try and talk to Phoenix about ending his relationship, believing that if Phoenix were to listen to anyone, it would be him. While he had attempted to forget his past life, including his close friends, the news of one of them enduring physical abuse was something he couldn't ignore.

"Phoenix," he said gently. He was glad when the other man finally looked at him, yet he wasn't prepared for the myriad of emotions shining through in his unharmed eye. "Let's take a walk."

Sniffling several times, Phoenix ultimately nodded his agreement.

They traveled in silence, and while he didn't know the area at all, Phoenix apparently did since he led them to an empty playground eight minutes later.

Taking a seat on the bench beside him, Edgeworth realized he'd have to press him in order to get anything out of him "How long has this been happening?"

Phoenix shrugged. "I don't know. Little over a month?"

"How did you two meet?"

"At the courthouse, actually. She gave me this necklace." He held up the pendant for Edgeworth to see and went on, "It was love at first sight." He smiled, and even though it appeared genuinely cheerful, there was a hidden misery to it.

"So you stay because you love her?"

"Of course I love her! She's the most beautiful, sweetest girl I've ever met. She even made me this sweater. She's amazing."

"Why does she hurt you, then?"

The adoration faded, leaving melancholy in its wake. "I deserve it," he said, ashamed, and gazed down at the sidewalk.

"What proof do you have of that?"

Another shrug. "She says I'm an idiot and demands I give the necklace back, but I'm worried if I do, she'll leave me. She says I can't do anything right."

"But why stay?"

"Because most of the time, she's so loving and caring. She makes me lunch and comes to all of the theater shows I'm in and tells me she loves me. We'll spend hours talking at night before finally falling asleep. I like how she makes me feel."

"Until she hits you."

Phoenix swallowed and quickly wiped away the couple of tears that raced down his cheek.

"You deserve better than that, Phoenix. You're too compassionate and giving to let her treat you in such a horrible manner."

"It's almost like she's two different people. Most days she's thoughtful and kind. Other days….But it's really not that bad."

Edgeworth raised his hand toward the other man's face, and Phoenix instinctively flinched. "It would seem otherwise," he concluded softly and rested his fingertips lightly against the bruised skin.

"What do you care, anyway?" Phoenix demanded, turning to stare at him directly and pushing his hand away. "You just disappear and you expect me to listen to you now when you couldn't be bothered with responding to any of my letters? It's like we weren't even friends. You may have forgotten about us, but I think about you every day."

Edgeworth's stoic expression faltered. "You do?"

"Even after all these years, I still kept hoping that I'd see you again, was worried if you were okay. Dollie's right; I'm an idiot. I should just move on and forget about you too, but I can't. I don't want to accept that our friendship didn't mean anything to you. Because you meant the world to me, Miles."

Recognizing that he had revealed too much, Phoenix blushed and glanced away. An uneasy stillness settled between them, both working on how to process it. He was embarrassed for admitting such feelings, yet at the same time, it felt liberating. He had nothing to lose, told himself he shouldn't care what Edgeworth thought of him now for it since he had Dahlia; however, the need to have the other man's approval refused to dwindle

After almost five minutes, Edgeworth at last confessed, "You mean a great deal to me as well, Phoenix. I'm still quite fond of you. Though I failed to show it, and yes, I tried to forget, you've always been an important part of my life."

Phoenix outwardly hid his reaction; internally, it was the exact opposite. He was overwhelmed by the storm of emotions the words brought about. He wanted to scream, laugh, cry.

When he felt Edgeworth's fingers brush against his own on the bench between them, he waited a moment before entwining them together.

For a long while, they sat in silence, hand in hand. Edgeworth stared ahead or upward at the stars, while Phoenix focused on the ground.

"I hope you'll consider what I said," Edgeworth finally voiced quietly. "I would hate to learn if things become worse. You should end it now before they do."

"You don't know her. She's not like those kinds of people."

"I've seen plenty of cases that would attest to that not being true."

"Well….you're wrong. I'm sorry you wasted your time."

"I wouldn't say it was completely pointless." He lightly squeezed Phoenix's hand, who returned the gesture and smiled.

"Hey, Miles?"

"Hm?"

"Do you have any other plans tonight?"

"No. I'm not usually out so late."

Phoenix hesitated before asking shyly, "Would you want to stay here with me for a bit longer?"

"I don't see why not."

They remained the way they were for the next hour, never once letting go of each other's hand. When they eventually walked back to the bar, Larry was gone. Offering to drive him to the dorms, Phoenix accepted the ride from Edgeworth and felt his heart sink as he watched the car get smaller in the distance until he couldn't see it anymore.

_She wouldn't do anything to seriously hurt me. She takes good care of me. I love her….But what if he's right?_

He grinned happily as he replayed Edgeworth's words over again in his head, reliving the affectionate way he'd held his hand and the compassionate words.

_She could hit me a thousand times if it meant seeing him just once more…._


End file.
